KTM 125 Duke vs Yamaha MT-15: In Pics

Two motorcycles targeted at the same buyer, with a price difference of just Rs 12,000. Here’s their comparison in pictures

Yamaha launched the MT-15 four months after KTM brought the 125 Duke to our shores. With the Duke’s recent price hike, it now has gotten even closer to the MT’s territory. In fact, the price difference is just Rs 12,000 now, with the MT-15 being the costlier bike at Rs 1.36 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Let’s pit these two bikes against each other in pictures:

Headlight:

The MT-15 comes with a radically designed headlight that looks quite futuristic. It also houses an equally modern LED unit. The KTM 125 Duke, on the other hand, comes with a traditional halogen unit.

Indicators:

The KTM 125 Duke features sleek-looking LED units whereas the MT-15 gets traditional bulb-type indicators. While the KTM’s indicators look much better, they’ll be more expensive to replace.

Instrument Cluster:

Both the bikes feature properly information-laden instrument clusters. However, on the KTM, the numbers are too small to be legible on the go. The MT-15’s cluster offers the data in bold fonts and the negative LCD gives them a good contrast to be readable even in broad daylight. Apart from displaying regular information, the two motorcycles also show fuel efficiency readouts which helps the rider get a fair idea of how far the motorcycle can go on one full tank of fuel.

Switchgear:

KTM’s switchgear quality feels a lot better than the MT-15’s. For some reason, Yamaha has chosen to swap the horn and indicator positions on the left handlebar. Riders might take time to get used to this kind of setup. Also, the KTM gets illuminated switchgear, which is quite useful in poorly-lit roads. On the other hand, the handlebar grips on the MT-15 feel a bit more premium than the 125 Duke.

Seat:

The KTM’s seat looks sportier since it is split into two. It also gets a neatly integrated grab rail whereas on the MT-15, Yamaha has provided a rather gaudy-looking metal bar running along the sides of the tail section to serve as a grab rail. The pillion seat on the MT-15 does look flatter than the 125 Duke, though. However, judging by the size of the pillion seat in both the bikes, they’re best suited for short distances.

Suspension:

Despite being an entry-level Duke, the Austrian brand has not compromised in terms of underpinnings. It gets proper inverted forks up front and monoshock at the rear, both sourced from WP. The forks also look quite beefy for a 125cc motorcycle. On the other hand, the MT-15 comes with traditional forks instead of the inverted units that it gets in foreign markets. At the rear, it gets a linked monoshock.

The Duke also gets 10mm more front travel, at 140mm, whereas at the rear, the MT-15 trumps the Duke with 37mm extra travel (97mm).

Swingarm:

Even though the 125 Duke is the most affordable bike in the KTM range, it features an aluminium swingarm. The MT-15 gets a box-section swingarm instead of the aluminium unit in the model sold abroad.

Brakes:

The Austrian hooligan is reined in by a 300mm front and a 230mm rear disc with single-channel ABS. It also gets radial calipers which helps in distributing braking forces more evenly than the axial unit on the Yamaha. Interestingly, despite being more powerful, the MT-15 makes do with a smaller 282mm disc at the front and a 220mm rear disc. Sadly, Yamaha has decided to equip the MT-15 with single-channel ABS, while the Yamaha R15 gets dual-channel ABS.